Quick Navigation

Epigraphs

For those who are curious, the quote from Milton's Paradise Lost is meant to evoke Taran'atar's state of mind; the line from Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel speaks to Vaughn's wrath; and the passage from Wordsworth's "She was a Phantom of delight" is intended to foreshadow Kira's storyline in Warpath and beyond.

Chapter 1

p.1 – Although there is a mountain named Harkoum in the Middle East, I was just looking for something that sounded Cardassian. No resemblance to any real place is intended or should be inferred.

p.3 – The qam as a unit of Klingon distance measurement was extrapolated from the kellicam — roughly equivalent to two kilometers — first established in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and recalled in the Star Trek: The Next Generation [TNG] episode "Redemption". The spelling is extrapolated from qelI'qam, as it appeared in the novel Diplomatic Implausibility, by Keith R.A. DeCandido.

p.4 — Klingons' contempt for mercenaries is an extrapolation/invention of the author.

p.5 — The properties of the Breen disruptor are an invention of the author. Gre'thor as a fixture of the Klingons' concept of an afterlife was established in the TNG episode "Devil's Due."

Chapter 2

p.6 — Taran'atar's trashing of his quarters, his attack on Captain Kira Nerys and Lieutenant Ro, and his departure in the turbolift for Runabout Pad A all were originally detailed in Worlds of Deep Space Nine [WoDS9], Vol. 3 — Olympus Descending, by David R. George III.

p.7 — Odo's orders for Taran'atar's mission to the Alpha Quadrant were first established in Avatar, Book Two by S.D. Perry.

p.8 — The imprisonment of the Female Changeling at the Ananke Alpha prison was established in WoDS9 Vol. 3 — Olympus Descending.

p.10 — Prynn Tenmei's visit to Andor with Thirishar ch'Thane, and their separation after the funeral of Thriss, were depicted in WoDS9 Vol. 1 — Paradigm, by Heather Jarman.

p.10 — Vaughn's "absentee parenting style" has been a lingering source of resentment for Prynn throughout the post-finale DS9 fiction.

p.11 — The crash of the runabout Euphrates on Sindorin was depicted in the Section 31 novel Abyss by Jeffrey Lang and David Weddle. Kira's mission to Europa Nova was depicted in Gateways: Demons of Air and Darkness, by Keith R.A. DeCandido.

p.12 — The use of elevators to move runabouts into launch position was established on the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine [DS9]. The ability of the Jem'Hadar to shroud themselves was established in the DS9 episode "The Jem'Hadar."

p.13 — Okay, if you've been following the DS9 fiction for a while, you might be wondering how Etana Kol, previously established as a security guard by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin (Marvel Comics' DS9 #10, 11, and 15; the DS9 Mission: Gamma novels), suddenly became a nurse. It's called a mistake.

As editor Marco Palmieri explained on the TrekBBS, my first-draft ms. for Warpath had contained several new supernumerary characters, including a nurse named Laurissa Van Hoff. At his request, I changed all instances of Van Hoff to Etana. At no point in the process did either of us realize our error. When a fan noticed it in the online excerpt, Marco called the printer to try and make a last-second correction, but it was too late — the book was already on press.

Part of the explanation for Marco's misremembering of Etana's job is that, in previous DS9 fiction, she was romantically involved with Nurse Krissten Richter, and he might have conflated their vocations. His solution to this is the same as our approach to all other Star Trek "continuity errors" — he'll retcon it in the next book.

So, you see, it's not really a mistake at all — it's just a seed planted for a future story. Move along now, kids, nothing to see here, nothing at all….

p.13 — The characters of medical technician Michael Ingbar and security guards Alberto Taveras and Franz Cortez are all new creations of the author.

p.13 — Neurocine was established in the DS9 episode "Civil Defense" as a lethal aerosol. Since I didn't realize when I wrote the word in the manuscript that it had actually been used before in Star Trek, one can only hope that Starfleet's drug of the same name has a more beneficial effect than that used in Cardassian counter-insurgency systems. It's also possible that the two cultures use the same name for two different drugs.

p.13 — Dr. Simon Tarses was established in the TNG episode "The Drumhead." He has also previously been seen in the DS9 post-finale books, such as Avatar, Books One and Two, and Section 31: Abyss. At this point, he is presented as a senior member of Bashir's medical staff. Dr. Aylam Edeen is a new character in the DS9 novels, one that the author created to replace Dr. Semna Girani, who announced a plan to transfer to Bajor in WoDS9 Vol. 2 — Fragments and Omens, by J. Noah Kym.

p.14 — The anatomical terminology was derived from the online version of Gray's Anatomy. The surgical arch, also referred to as a surgical support frame, is from the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, by Michael Okuda and Rick Sternbach, and was established in the original-series [TOS] episode "Journey to Babel" and updated in the TNG episode "Ethics." Though integrated Starfleet SSFs are self-contained apparatus built into the bed frame, the author's assumption is that the Cardassian-designed equipment on Deep Space 9 would require some refitted components that would be attached and detached as needed.

p.15 — Some of the functions of the biobed, such as the foot-activated controls, are inventions of the author. The sterilizing forcefield that protects the operating room is taken from the TNG episode "Ethics." Triox is derived from the triox compound McCoy gives to Kirk in the TOS episode "Amok Time." The cortical stimulator device was established in the TNG episode "Skin of Evil."

p.16 — The details of a cardiac bypass and heart-replacement surgery were derived from the current-day protocols for this operation.

p.17 — Musilla University and its teaching hospital are inventions of the author. The fictional cities of Musilla and Tamulna can be seen on the map of Bajor found on p.652-653 of The Star Trek Deep Space Nine Companion by Terry Erdmann and Paula Block.

p.21 — Major Cenn Desca was established as Deep Space 9's new Bajoran Militia liaison in WoDS9 Vol. 2 — Fragments and Omens, by J. Noah Kym. Security officers Ron Broeking and Cardok are creations of the author.

p.23 — Quark's Bar, Grill, Embassy, Gaming House and Holosuite Arcade was appointed by Grand Nagus Rom as Ferenginar's embassy to Bajor in the DS9 novel Unity by S.D. Perry. Its status as sovereign Ferengi territory preserves the bar's Ferengi-style economics on the station.

p.24 — Vaughn's guess about Taran'atar's tactical objectives is based on the actions that Kitana'klan took against Deep Space 9 in the DS9 novel Avatar, Book Two, by S.D. Perry.

Chapter 3

p.26 — The first series of events is a recounting of Taran'atar's attack on her and Ro from the end of WoDS9 Vol. 3 — Olympus Descending.

p.26 — Opaka Sulan was formerly known as Kai Opaka, a revered spiritual leader on Bajor during and shortly after the time of the Cardassian occupation. She was a particularly influential figure for Kira Nerys. Opaka's given name was established in the DS9 novel Rising Son by S.D. Perry.

p.26 — The list of people Kira sees in her near-death moment are all persons in her life who have died:

Shakaar Edon, the former First Minister of Bajor, was infested by the parasites seen in TNG: "Conspiracy," and his possessed body was assassinated at Bajor's induction into the United Federation of Planets in the DS9 novel Mission: Gamma, Book Three — Cathedral, by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels;

Bareil Antos died a slow death from deteriorating brain damage in the DS9 episode "Life Support";

Her father, Kira Taban, died during a Cardassian raid on the village where he lived (DS9: "Ties of Blood and Water");

Tora Ziyal, the half-Bajoran, half-Cardassian daughter of Gul Dukat, was murdered by Glinn Damar in the DS9 episode "Sacrifice of Angels";

Aamin Marritza impersonated a notorious Cardassian war criminal, Gul Darheel, so that he could pay for Darheel's crimes by proxy. Marritza, after recanting his impersonation, was stabbed in the back by a vengeful Bajoran man, in the DS9 episode "Duet";

Jadzia Dax, the former science officer of Deep Space 9 and wife of Worf, was killed by a Pah-wraith that had possessed the body of Gul Dukat, in the DS9 episode "In the Hands of the Prophets."

p.26 — Gallitep was a Cardassian-run labor camp on Bajor during the occupation, established in the DS9 episode "Duet."

p.26 — Kira's mother allowed herself to be pressed into service as a "comfort woman" to Gul Dukat in order to secure favorable treatment for her family on Bajor. Kira learned of her mother's sexual enslavement only years later, during an Orb experience in which she traveled back in time, in the DS9 episode "Wrongs Darker than Death or Night."

p.27 — The first reference to kava was Kira's story about the three kava farmers from Jokala (DS9, "Starship Down").

p.27 — When medical complications threatened to harm Keiko O'Brien's pregnancy, an experimental procedure by Dr. Bashir transferred the developing fetus into the body of Kira Nerys (DS9: "Body Parts"), who carried the O'Briens' son, Kirayoshi, to term (DS9: "The Begotten").

p.27 — The reference to Benjamin Sisko's smile upon his return to the commander's office on Deep Space 9 alludes to the scene from the end of the DS9 novel Unity by S.D. Perry.

p.29 — Sisko's statement that "a part" of him resides in the Celestial Temple was inspired by his sense of continued connection to the Prophets in WoDS9 Vol. 2 — Fragments and Omens, by J. Noah Kym.

Chapter 4

p.31 — The alternate-universe version of Captain Klag commands the I.K.S. Gorkon, which is called a Regent-class starship, rather than a Chancellor-class. The reason for this difference is that, in several Mirror Universe episodes of the DS9 television series, the head of the Klingon Empire was shown to be Regent Worf. Assuming that Klingon leaders have been called "regents" for some time, it stood to reason that the famous historical figure of Gorkon would also have been a regent. And, whereas in the original Star Trek universe Gorkon was hailed as a diplomat and peacemaker, it again made sense to cast him in the Mirror Universe as a conqueror.

p.31 — Gul Akellen Macet and his ship the Trager are direct analogs for their regular-Trek-universe (RTU) counterparts in the DS9 novels.

p.32 — Sensor interference in the vicinity of Sindorin was established in Section 31: Abyss, by Jeffrey Lang and David Weddle.

p.32 — In the DS9 television series, the Klingon Ninth Fleet was established as being under Martok's command.

Chapter 5

p.35 — Lieutenant Michael Strang is a new creation of the author, not previously seen in the DS9 fiction.

p.36 — Ensign Jull Zehar and security guard Hollim Azahn and Jarmus Lenn are new creations of the author, not previously seen in the DS9 fiction. Their transfer from Bajoran Militia service to Starfleet service is part of the process of integrating Bajor into the Federation.

p.37 — "Fusion core, grid 22" was the location from which Kitana'klan sabotaged Deep Space 9's power core in the DS9 novel Avatar, Book Two, by S.D. Perry.

p.39 — Two mentioned but unseen characters, Statham and Frazelli, were named as homages to the remake version of the movie The Italian Job. Statham, of course was named for actor Jason Statham, and Frazelli was the alias surname of Edward Norton's character, aka Steve.

p.40 — Sisko's affectation regarding his baseball was often seen on the DS9 television series, and he "bequeathed" it to Captain Kira after his return from the Celestial Temple in the DS9 novel Unity by S.D. Perry.

p.40 — Vaughn's Orb experience and subsequent bond with Kira was featured in the DS9 novels Avatar, Books One and Two, by S.D. Perry.

p.41 — The "triple-over" bet in dabo was established in the DS9 episode "Starship Down."

p.43 — Quark's proclivity for hoarding isolinear rods that enable him to circumvent station security was shown in the DS9 episode "Babel."

p.44 — The awkwardness between Quark and Ro stems from their on-again, off-again flirtation, which began in Avatar, Book One, by S.D. Perry. Before Bajor was inducted into the UFP, they had considered leaving the system and going into business together (Mission: Gamma, Book Three — Cathedral, by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels). When Ro was readmitted into Starfleet, her new duties put a strain on their relationship. Though the pair agreed to put aside romantic intentions (in WoDS9 Vol. 3 — Satisfaction is Not Guaranteed, by Keith R.A. DeCandido), reciprocal deep feelings linger.

p.46 — The idea that Ro and Kira have the same blood type is a invention of the author.

p.47 — Vedek Capril's shunning of Kira during her period of Attainder by Vedek Yevir was depicted in the DS9 novel Avatar, Book Two, by S.D. Perry.

p.49 — The Female Changeling's statements to Taran'atar that are excerpted here are from WoDS9 Vol. 3 — Olympus Descending, by David R. George III.

p.50 — The character of Ensign Jang Si Naran, a Thallonian, is an invention of the author, and is intended as an homage to Peter David's best-selling Star Trek literary series, Star Trek: New Frontier.

p.51 — Ensign Selzner's job as a communications officer and her overbite have been previously established, in the DS9 novel Avatar, Book Two, by S.D. Perry.

p.52 — Using a transponder frequency and a command prefix code to seize remote control over a wayward starship was established in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Chapter 6

p.54 — Based on the elapsed time since the departure of the runabout Euphrates from Deep Space 9, and the velocities indicated on the warp-speed chart in the Star Trek Encyclopedia, I estimated Taran'atar's travel distance to be roughly one billion kilometers. Your mileage may vary.

p.55 — Taran'atar's contempt for Bashir's unwillingness to embrace his own greatness was mentioned in Section 31: Abyss by Jeffrey Lang and David Weddle.

p.55 — Taran'atar's estimate of the Defiant's intercept time to overtake the Euphrates is again based on the warp-speed chart in the Star Trek Encyclopedia.

p.56 — According to various sources, Bajor's primary star is known locally as B'hava'el.

p.56 — The onset of Taran'atar's dreaming was depicted in WoDS9 Vol. 3 — Olympus Descending, by David R. George III.

p.59 — The presence of allied peacekeeping forces inside Cardassian space after the end of the Dominion War was established in Avatar, Books One and Two, by S.D. Perry.

p.60 — The Tanglor ice chute on Jotunheim and the Burning Sea of Coridan are inventions of the author.

Chapter 7

p.64 — Jake's possession by the Pah-wraith occurred in the DS9 episode "The Reckoning."

p.67 — The conundrum (paradox?) of Sisko's linear relationship with the non-linear beings known as the Prophets is based on the DS9 episodes "Image in the Sand" and "Shadows and Symbols."

Chapter 8

p.70 — Grauq is a Chalnoth, an anarchical and violently aggressive species first seen in the TNG episode "Allegiance." The Nausicaans, on the other hand, are simply renowned as hotheads, and all we know of the Balduk is that Worf described them as "fierce warriors" (TNG: "New Ground").

Chapter 9

p.79 — Engineering officer Ensign Kall Denna is another invention of the author, one of the station's many "integrated" Bajoran Militia personnel.

Chapter 10

p.83 — Tactical officer Lieutenant Greg Forte is an invention of the author.

p.84 — Though the first name of character Ensign Merimark was established as Kaitlin in Mission: Gamma, Book One — Twilight, by David R. George III, here her first name is given as Stefka. As with the Nurse Etana fiasco (see p.13), this is called a mistake.

p.85 — The location of the access hatch for a runabout's microtorpedo ordnance was gleaned from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual.

p.87 — Flight controller Ensign Amy Zucca is yet another in a long list of characters invented by the author for this novel.

p.88 — Magnesite's ability to interfere with transporters was established in the DS9 episode "…Nor the Battle to the Strong."

p.90 — Ultritium was established as being a powerful and unstable explosive compound in the TNG episodes "Manhunt" and "The Enemy." The fact that it can be found on asteroids in deposits large enough to warrant mining operations was established in the DS9 episode "In Purgatory's Shadow."

p.90 — The idea of interlinking various elements of Starfleet technology to perform unorthodox functions has a long history in Star Trek; several examples similar to those used here and later in Warpath can be found in The Starfleet Survival Guide by David Mack.

p.91 — During the Defiant's extended mission in the Gamma Quadrant, Vaughn and the crew encountered a Borg drone who had once been Ruriko Tenmei, Prynn's mother. Vaughn, despite knowing the effort would likely be futile, attempted to liberate Ruriko from the Borg Collective. When Ruriko attempted to assimilate Prynn, Vaughn was forced to kill Ruriko in front of their daughter. (Mission: Gamma, Book Four — Lesser Evil, by Robert Simpson)

p.92 — "like a handful of ancient dust, robbed of heat." This is an inversion of Joseph Conrad's line from Youth, "…the triumphant conviction of strength, the heat of life in the handful of dust…". A similar inversion of Conrad's line is found in T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust." Both inspired my turn of the phrase in Warpath.

p.92 — "laid low like Job." For those of you who are not up on your Biblical references, Job was a man of faith who got caught in a wager between God and the Devil. God allowed Satan to torment Job with every kind of suffering and misfortune and reduce him to nothing, to prove to Satan that Job would not renounce his faith in God. Job never broke, God won the bet, and Job was rewarded for his faith. But man, it sucked to be him for a while there.

p.93 — Vaughn's friendship with Opaka Sulan began in the DS9 novel Unity, by S.D. Perry.

p.95 — "like the Fool gazing upon Lear, [Vaughn] saw only his shadow." The name in the middle of that line should give it away, but this is a reference to William Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear, Act I, Sc. IV, when Lear asks, "Who is it that can tell me who I am?," and the Fool replies "Lear's shadow." It is meant to imply that Lear has become only a faint imitation of who and what he once was.

Chapter 11

p.97 — The duration of time for which a person's transporter pattern can be safely stored in a buffer without risking signal degradation is derived from the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, by Michael Okuda and Rick Sternbach.

p.97 — The configuration of a runabout's cockpit stations is as per the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual, by Herman Zimmerman, Rick Sternbach, and Doug Drexler.

p.97 — The use of tachyon fields to detect cloaked vessels was first suggested in the TNG episode "Redemption," Part II.

p.98 — The purpose of ketracel-white was established on the DS9 television series. Taran'atar's rare lack of a need for it, because his body produces the enzyme naturally, was established in Avatar, Book Two, by S.D. Perry. This rare anomaly was first displayed by Goran'agar in the DS9 episode "Hippocratic Oath."

Chapter 12

p.101 — The ethnic subgroup known as the Bajora was established in the Gateways: What Lay Beyond story "Horn and Ivory," by Keith R.A. DeCandido. This tribe became a nation-state, and eventually dominated the planet culturally and economically, subsuming other ethnic identities. Thousands of years later, despite the persistence of regional and ethnic variation among the people of Bajor, they now share a common identity as Bajorans. (When the species was first introduced in the TNG episode "Ensign Ro," they were called "the Bajora." The name later was changed to "Bajorans.")

p.101 — Parek Tonn is an invention of the author and former Star Trek Books editor John J. Ordover. It was originally intended as an analog for the Hebrew fortress of Masada, in a Mack/Ordover spec teleplay for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Though that script did not sell, it served as a calling card that landed Mack and Ordover their first DS9 script assignment, "Starship Down."

p.101 — The names of all the characters in these "vision" sequences (except for Kira, Opaka, and Jamin) are anagrams of characters in the Deep Space Nine fiction. Ghavun = Vaughn … Nathech = ch'Thane … Zeir = Ezri, and so on. Jamin is a shortened version of Benjamin. The name of Kira's steed is an anagram of the runabout that she named: Jayol = Yolja. Sisko's steed is named with an anagram from a runabout, as well: Denigarro = Rio Grande.

p.102 — Mount Kola is derived from the map of Bajor in The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, by Terry Erdmann and Paula Block.

p.103 — The Bajoran people known as the Paqu are from the first-season DS9 episode "The Storyteller."

p.104 — The Fields of Berzel is another reference to the never-produced Mack/Ordover DS9 spec script (see p.101, second annotation). Berzel was to have been Kira Nerys's grandmother.

p.104 — Trenches were commonly employed during the late medieval period as a defense against siege engines, and to slow and channel infantry attacks into narrow corridors, enabling defenders to concentrate their fire and maximize casualties among the attackers.

p.105 — The chanting and the eerie, musical hum is a reference to what Jake, Opaka and others encountered when they first met the Eav'oq on Idran at the end of the DS9 novel Rising Son, by S.D. Perry.

p.106 — The description of the Eav'oq is adapted from the DS9 novel Rising Son, by S.D. Perry.

p.107 — The Navot were established as a Bajoran tribe with a long history of conflict against the Paqu, in the first-season DS9 episode "The Storyteller." The Janir are an invention of the author.

Chapter 13

p.110 — As noted previously (Chapter 2, p.16), the details of a cardiac bypass and heart-replacement surgery were derived from the current-day protocols for this operation.

p.112 — Genetronic replication was first introduced in the TNG episode "Ethics." Its success in that episode was greatly facilitated by the peculiarities and redundancies of Klingon physiology. It is an invention of the author that work continued on the process by other physicians, including Drs. Beverly Crusher, Simon Tarses, and Julian Bashir.

p.113 — Medical nanites are already on the drawing board in modern-day medicine, so it seemed appropriate that the technology might be revisited by the DS9 medical staff, much as present-day physicians use leeches to aid in skin grafts, limb reattachments, etc. Also, considering the advances made in nanotechnology, in such episodes as TNG: "Evolution," it seemed reasonable.

p.113 — Delta-wave generators were established as a non-chemical means of surgical anesthetic in DS9: "Invasive Procedures."

Chapter 14

p.121 — The Klingon proclivity for choosing "sturdy" mates was inspired by Worf's comment to Guinan (in the TNG episode "Yesterday's Enterprise") that he refrained from dating his female shipmates because he was "concerned" for their "safety."

p.124 — Fek'lhr is the guardian of the entrance to Gre'thor — where the dishonored are condemned to spend eternity in the Klingon conception of an afterlife. (TNG: "Devil's Due")

p.124 — Klingons' highly sensitive olfactory skills have been alluded to in such episodes as TNG's "Birthright," Part II.

p.125 — The Klingon civil war against Chancellor Gowron was depicted in the TNG episodes "Redemption," Parts I and II. The defeat of forces loyal to Gowron in the Mempa system was established in those same episodes.

p.126 — The Jem'Hadar's pre-battle mantra was established in the DS9 episode "To the Death."

Chapter 15

No annotations.

Chapter 16

p.131 — The precious nature of Tholian silk has been established in such episodes as DS9: "The Way of the Warrior."

p.132 — The proximity of Tzenkethi space to the Badlands on the Cardassian border, and of Regulon to the B'hava'el system, both are derived from Geoffrey Mandel's Star Charts.

Chapter 17

p.135 — Astute readers might notice a slight resemblance between the "flayers" of Harkoum, and the Graboids of the Tremors movies.

p.135 — Efrosians have been seen (though never identified by name) in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

p.136 — Though the spelling is altered slightly, the name of Grauq's ship is an homage to a race from the 1980s version of TSR Inc.'s Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, described in the moster compendium titled Fiend Folio, edited by Don Turnbull. (In case you're wondering — no, there is no specific inspiration for the ship named Otamawan. It was just a string of syllables the author murmured in a whiskey-fueled rumination.)

p.137 — Tiburonians were first seen in the TOS episode "The Way to Eden" (and named in the script of DS9: "The Ship"). If you're up on your Latin, you already know that tiburon means "shark." Not that it has anything to do with anything. It's just fun to know these things sometimes.

Chapter 18

p.140 — Appearing for the first time here is Renla … aka "Laren."

p.141 — The map of Bajor in The Star Trek Deep Space Nine Companion shows Lonar to the west of Mount Kola.

p.145 — Opaka Sulan's collegial bond with the Eav'oq was established in the DS9 novel Rising Son, by S.D. Perry.

Chapter 19

p.148 — The apparently fine distinction between a preganglionic fiber and a postganglionic nerve was one that Bashir allegedly had flubbed on his final exam at Starfleet Medical School, resulting in his status as class salutatorian rather than valedictorian (DS9: "Emissary," Part I; "Explorers") — an honor that went to Dr. Elizabeth Lense (now a continuing character in the Star Trek: S.C.E. and Star Trek: Corps of Engineers eBook series).

Bashir neither confirmed nor denied that he had deliberately given the wrong answer on the question (in order to deflect potential suspicion of his genetically enhanced nature) when he was so accused by Dr. Lense (S.C.E.: Wounds, Book 1, by Ilsa Bick).

Chapter 20

p.156 — The clandestine, "back channel" relationship between Elias Vaughn and Lorgh of Imperial Intelligence was established in Keith R.A. DeCandido's Lost Era novel, The Art of the Impossible.

p.157 — The class name Haqtaj was assembled from word fragments in The Klingon Dictionary, by Marc Okrand. Roughly transliterated, it means "Surgery Knife." That can be further translated two ways: "surgical strike" or "scalpel" … either works for me.

p.157 — Sto-Vo-Kor is the Klingons' equivalent of Valhalla, a place where honorable warriors can spend the afterlife enjoying glorious battle, feasts, and songs of courage. Admittance is usually based on the manner of one's death. (TNG: "Rightful Heir")

Chapter 21

p.162 — Kitana'klan was a Jem'Hadar who tried to kill Taran'atar in the DS9 novels Avatar, Books One and Two, after also trying to fool the DS9 crew into believing he was the observer sent by Odo. Taran'atar killed Kitana'klan to help save Deep Space 9.

p.163 — The nameless Jem'Hadar First from Sindorin is from Section 31: Abyss, by Jeffrey Lang and David Weddle.

p.163 — Taran'atar's belief that the word Jem'Hadar means "soldier" is an invention of the author.

p.163 — It is an invention of the author that the first Vorta to whom Taran'atar was assigned was Eris, who was seen in the DS9 episode "The Jem'Hadar."

p.164 — The chain of command within the Dominion was established in numerous episodes of the DS9 television series.

p.164 — Mokata'klan and the practice of Jem'Hadar Firsts bestowing names upon Jem'Hadar younglings are both inventions of the author.

p.165 — Weyoun's role in identifying the Jem'Hadar who were not white-dependent was depicted in WoDS9 Vol. 3 — Olympus Descending by David R. George III.

p.165 — The Founders' reverence for the being known as The Progenitor is taken from WoDS9 Vol. 3 — Olympus Descending, by David R. George III.

p.167 — It was established in Section 31: Abyss that Jem'Hadar have (at least) two hearts.

p.170 — The dynoscanner is a common tool in the Star Trek universe — though not so common that the author didn't manage to conflate it with a Star Wars hydrospanner in Star Trek Vanguard: Harbinger. This time, it is named correctly.

p.174 — Klingons' psychological associations with colors is extrapolated from the fact that they seem to favor a dim red lighting scheme aboard their ships when all is calm, and a bright white scheme when in emergency modes.

Chapter 22

p.178 — The consequences of the governmental implosion on Cardassia Prime following the end of the Dominion War was explored in WoDS9 Vol. 1 — The Lotus Flower, by Una McCormack, and in the DS9 novel A Stitch in Time, by Andrew J. Robinson.

p.179 — Vaughn's Orb experience in which he interacted with Sisko — an event that they both experienced through their Celestial Temple alter egos, Eli and Benny — was depicted in the DS9 novel Unity by S.D. Perry.

p.179 — The bond between Vaughn and Kira has its origins in the fact that his Orb experience on the Cardassian freighter Kamal matches precisely the details of a dream that Kira had about the recovery of the Orb that Vaughn had found.

p.180 — The massacre of the Sidau village in Hedrikspool Province, on Bajor, was depicted in WoDS9 Vol. 2 — Fragments and Omens, by J. Noah Kym.

p.181 — Ke Hovath's role as the village Sirah was from the first-season DS9 episode "The Storyteller."

p.183 — The political complications associated with the use of the Defiant's cloaking device in the Alpha Quadrant was covered in the ship's first on-screen appearance, in the DS9 episode "The Search," Part I.

Chapter 23

p.186 — The Eav'oq's concealment of Parek Tonn parallels their concealment of the wormhole's location by shifting the Idran system away from the wormhole's Gamma Quadrant terminus.

p.187 — The Ascendants were established in the DS9 novel Rising Son by S.D. Perry. Their motives and methods were further hinted at in WoDS9 Vol. 3 — Olympus Descending by David R. George III.

Chapter 24

p.189 — The accelerated decomposition of Tiburonian corpses is an invention of the author.

p.191 — Aldebaran whiskey is one of those libations that's just fun to mention. It was identified onscreen in TNG: "Relics," very likely as an homage to the TOS episode "By Any Other Name," in which the drink was, ironically, not named.

Chapter 25

p.197 — "a load of grub-fudu." One of the simultaneous challenges and joys of writing licensed Star Trek fiction is making up alien obscenities. As evidenced a few lines later, when Nog calls Bashir a reepok.

p.199 — Of course, Nog saves his most choice epithet for Taran'atar: moogi-jokk. Considering that Quark and Rom call their mother, Ishka, "moogie," it's not difficult to extrapolate the inspiration for this Ferengi slur.

p.200 — Ensign Salmak is another one of the author's many invented supernumeraries. Don't feel like you missed something.

p.202 — In case you're thinking about the passage of time and it seems not to add up based on Ro's recollections, remember that Bajor — and, by extension, Deep Space 9 — operate on a 26-hour day.

p.204 — "Because she once did this for me." When Sisko was downed with a severe head injury in the DS9 episode "Starship Down," Kira tried to keep him conscious by telling him the story of the three brothers from Jokala.

Chapter 26

p.205 — Given the physics capabilities of the RTU Ke Hovath, the author extrapolated a similar skill set for his MU counterpart, and adjusted the character's backstory circumstances accordingly.

p.206 — "Smiley" is the nickname for the Mirror Universe's version of Miles O'Brien. He apparently developed a handheld device, first seen in the DS9 episode "Through the Looking Glass," that could modify standard transporter technology to bridge the MU with the RTU.

p.208 — The Tilar peninsula is derived from the map of Bajor in The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion by Terry Erdmann and Paula Block.

Chapter 27

p.211 — The name of the Romulan Warbird Verithrax is one letter shy of being an homage to the dragon Vermithrax in the film Dragonslayer. This is intentional.

p.211 — The disbanding of the Obsidian Order is an extrapolation from on-screen references following the DS9 episode "By Inferno's Light."

Chapter 28

p.214 — The Bajoran unit of distance measurement, kellipates, is an extrapolation by the author, from the established area measurement unit of tessipates (DS9: "Progress").

p.215 — The physical description of the Ascendants is derived from the DS9 novel Rising Son by S.D. Perry.

Chapter 29

p.219 — The asphyxiating effects of prolonged suspension is a real medical phenomenon. In ancient times, most people punished by crucifixion were not nailed to the crosses or poles, but merely suspended from them until they suffocated.

p.220 — Pelagia Prime and its excellent windsurfing is an invention of the author.

p.221 — The coyote story is more often told as part of the "Coyote Ugly" joke. If you don't know the joke, pray that you never have reason to learn it.

Chapter 30

p.227 — Ezri Dax switched from counseling to the command track after the events of the DS9 novels Avatar, Books One and Two, by S.D. Perry.

p.228 — Ezri refers to the new Luna-class starships being built at Utopia Planitia. This ties in to the timeline of starship production for vessels such as the U.S.S. Titan, which entered service near the end of 2379 and beginning of 2380, as per Star Trek Titan: Taking Wing, by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin.

p.229 — The prophecy that Sisko was "of Bajor" but would "find no rest there" was given by the Prophets in the DS9 episode "Sacrifice of Angels."

Chapter 31

No annotations.

Chapter 32

p.238 — The description of Sisko in this scene is meant to evoke his alter ego, Benny, from the DS9 episodes "Far Beyond the Stars" and "Shadows and Symbols."

p.239 — Kira's line about two peoples being on "a path to war" was my way of justifying my Jerry Bruckheimer-esque title for this book.

p.240 — Boryhas is the Bajoran word for "ghost," as per the TNG episode "The Next Phase." It can be used as a singular or as a plural noun.

Chapter 33

p.242 — Savonigar is an invention of the author. He is a Nausicaan, a species first seen in the TNG episode "Tapestry."

p.244 — The Nausicaan term venolar — "snowblood" — is an invention of the author.

p.248 — The fact that Klingon type-IV cloaking devices emit neutrinos when in a standard M-class atmosphere was established in Star Trek: Insurrection. The properties of Romulan interphasic cloaking devices were established in the TNG episodes "The Next Phase" and "The Pegasus."

p.249 — Lieutenant Lisa Neeley was established as a security officer aboard the Defiant, under Captain Sisko's command, in the DS9 episode "Rocks and Shoals."

p.249 — "Surface operation blacks" was a name coined in the TNG novel The Battle of Betazed, by Susan Kearney and Charlotte Douglas, for the ground-combat Starfleet uniform that was first seen in "…Nor the Battle to the Strong."

p.251 — IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) circuits are a technology that already exists in a limited form now. Its use by Starfleet forces after an intense conflict such as the Dominion War is an assumption by the author.

p.253 — The color of Jem'Hadar blood was established in the novel Section 31: Abyss, by Jeffrey Lang and David Weddle.

p.257 — Jaid, as noted later in the text, is a Nalori. The author invented the Nalori species for the S.C.E. two-part eBook novella Invincible, cowritten with Keith R.A. DeCandido. Since then, Nalori characters have appeared in the Star Trek Vanguard series, and the Nalori Republic was mentioned in the Star Trek: The Next Generation duology A Time to Kill and A Time to Heal.

p.264 — When the Cardassian Woman asks Savonigar if he believes in gods, and he answers that he believes in "the Four Winds," it's an homage to the Japanese anime Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by director Hayao Miyazaki, and to the Greek myth of Nausicaa, the Princess of the Wind, both of which inspired the species' name.

p.264 — Tegol as the Nausicaan word for "soul" and "Heart of the Sky" as their name for the afterlife are inventions of the author.

p.274 — Hyperextension is a real consequence of the sort of prolonged suspension that Prynn endured. It can sometimes take several minutes for someone released from such a position to lower their arms.

Chapter 34

p.276 — Meet Shirab the apothecary, anagramatically known as Bashir.

p.280 — The Eav'oq's pacifism and refusal to harm or terminate sentient life was established in the DS9 novel Rising Son by S.D. Perry.

Chapter 35

p.291 — The mention of Vaughn's experience during the "Betreka Nebula fiasco" refers to the Lost Era novel The Art of the Impossible, by Keith R.A. DeCandido.

p.293 — The fact that Jem'Hadar are no better able to see in the dark than are other humanoid species was also used in the author's Tales of the Dominion War story, "Twilight's Wrath."

p.296 — Using a tricorder as a remote control for a phaser is just one of many nonstandard applications of integrated Starfleet technology posited in The Starfleet Survival Guide by David Mack, and first used in Mission: Gamma, Book Four — Lesser Evil, by Robert Simpson.

Chapter 36

p.300 — "Die and burn" is an extrapolation of Ascendant philosophy, first glimpsed in the DS9 novel Rising Son by S.D. Perry.

p.308 — The unexpected knife wound in Kira's chest is an allusion, obviously, to the attack by Taran'atar in WoDS9 Vol. 3 — Olympus Descending by David R. George III.

p.309 — "the uncreated womb of night" is a slight inversion of, and homage to, a line from John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost —

To perish rather, swallowed up and lost
In the wide womb of uncreated night

Chapter 37

p.323 — In case you're wondering, "How much time transpired from when the landing platform collapsed and when Prynn and Vaughn were rescued, and would the noH'pach have hit the bottom of the pit by then?" — the answers are as follows.

Given the pit's stated depth of ten kilometers, and the formula for gravitational acceleration, it would have taken the noH'pach roughly four minutes to hit the bottom.

The total time from the platform's collapse to Vaughn and Prynn's rescue, in the author's estimate, is less than 90 seconds.

Chapter 38

No annotations.

Chapter 39

p.331 — Kira's carrying to term of the O'Briens' baby Kirayoshi is from the DS9 episodes "Body Parts" and "The Begotten."